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via City of Balto. [Baltimore] [underscored] 5 Hanover St. – 29 May 1863
Dear Ann
After making up all but 2 oz. for you, I am compelled to use another envel= =ope, & so I commence a new letter, tho’ it is to go by the same steamer tomorrow.
I slept unto 3/4 past 7, & then with hard work was down stairs by 15 or 20 minutes past 8, where I found W[illia]m & Sarah waiting breakfast. – In the family worship I did not forget thanks for the safe arrival of you & Mytton.
The Therm[omete]r had sunk to 63, which was lower than I expected. Yesterday it reached 70, & I suppose is quite as high now – 3 1/2 p.m.
The dead-mouse odour was still more offensive this morni[n]g. – There is something wrong in one of the weights to the upper [underscored] sash as well as the lower [underscored] one, of one of the dining room windows, & before I left the house this morn[in]g Sarah had been out & engaged a workman to come & mend it today – not
engaged in work for the Government
Mr. Fitzsimmons – for he is in Wash[ingto]n at present ^ , but a man from some other [“boss”?] carpenter. – I have just been hunting in the last Directory, & have found for Sarah the address of W. C. Hanna, who did the
n
new flagging, that he may directed to repair the wou^d in the front door step. –
\ from Broome St. only \
I rode down town ^ because of some laxity in my interior (tho’ hardly more than desirable in warm weather – as it keeps my brains cool & in good order)
When I got to the news-room, seeing Mr. Kenne= =dy seated there, I tore off a slip of paper, & wrote on it that we had yesterday rec[eive]d [underscored] letters from you & Mytton to 14th mailed at Q[ueens]town, & that I was thank=
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ful to say you were both very well - & that you had seen, for the first time in your life, icebergs on the 10th & 11th. – The old gentleman’s face was radiant with pleasure, & I asked him to shew the[ mem[orandu]m?] to Mrs. Kennedy. –
I had in my own mind carved out a variety of work for me to do at the office today, but I have been able to perform very little of it in consequence of this bothering note from the Rev[eren]d Dr. Morgan, of which I now enclose a copy, & of the letter I after= =wards, sent before 3 1/2 p.m., to Dr. Van Rensselaer.
There is a tone of desperate determination in the Dr’s letter to Mr. Barnewall, that is not apparent in that to Matthew; but there is also a clearer acknowledgement of the rights of the recusant Vault-owners – Matthew could not enter in this matter today, because he had letters to write for the steamer. – I rather advised that Mr. Witmon should again be consulted as to the proper interpreta =tion of the decision of the Court as affecting the rights of the Vault-owners – Mrs. Barnewall was kind enough to come to our office & see me (at Matthew’s request) & shew me both the Dr’s letter to him & his courteous but guarded reply. – I told him that my own feeling had always been against deriving the least pecuniary gain as Vault-owner, that it was simply upon principle, & the dislike of being deprived of one’s place of worship, that I had been so strenuously opposed to the removal, but that sooner or later saw it must be inevitable. He agreed with me on each of these points, & remarked that at our time of life, perhaps it was best to have the matter set= =tled at once, so that we could ourselves see to the disinterment being conducted in “proper way, rather than leave this task to those who
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come after us, & might not have the same interest & feeling in the matter. – It thus seemed to me from these remarks that he is inclined to give in.
Talking with Matthew on this subject after Mr. Barnewall had left (for M[atthew] was not in whilst Mr. B[arnewall] was with me) he observed that it was rather “sharp practice” for the Vestry to have collect =ed as they have just done, the 12 mo[nth]s ground rent, to 1 May 1864, [‘1864’ underscored] & then to turn round upon us & tell us they are going go pull down the Church.
And he “stuck a [pin?]” there, as being a legal question, whether, in so doing they had not bound themselves to give us the use of the Church for worship until 1 May 1864. - But I do not think that this can be made any se= =rious barrier to their Vandal [underscored] scheme being carried out. – I remarked both to Matthew & to Mr. Barnewall, that no doubt the Dr. feels happy that you, as generalissimo of the opposition, are now out of the way. – The whole matter is all of a price with the Vandal work in our own Street.
Friday night. – I rode up to dinner in the same car with neighbour Skidmore; & as he walked on one side of 4th St. to his own door & I on the other, it seemed to me that all his movements, seemed dis= =gust & mortification - & no wonder! – As I was walking since T[ea] to 28th St. & back on this fine & beautiful night, I was, part of the time, ponder= =ing over these matters, & it struck me that Dr. Morgan & his confreres might be likened to David -the rich man stealing the poor man’s lamb! &
the
there again I classed them with ^ secessionists - an idea which would (as Sarah observes) horrify the Dr. exceedingly! – for he would repel such an in= =sinuation by maintaining that we [underscored], of the minor [underscored] =ity, [underscored] are the contumacious Southerners! – In point of fact, however, they are both the exponents of
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of the principles so prevalent in this city – the want of veneration, the distaste for what is old, the thirst for novelty & display, & the general worship of Mammon! And it seems quite useless to attempt to oppose, or reform such principles; it is like trying to swim a= gainst the current of the Mississippi! – Let St. Tho[ma]s church [New York City] be pulled down: & I am sure it must accelerate [underscored] the Vandal changes around us & the utter destruction of the neighbourhood as a place of abode for ladies & gentleman. –
It was about 25 minutes past 5, when I got home, & nearly an hour after that when we sat down to dinner. Sarah had gone out to [struck-through] at 4
a
p.m. to take ^ ride with Lib Hudden in their carriage, & came in only at 6.25, looking bloom =ing, rosy, & smart. First, they had ridden to various places when Lib had shopping to do, instead of the original design of riding in the Cen =tral Park; & so after the shopping, they rode no farther than 42nd St. –
W[illia]m & Walker were equally late in coming home to dinner. And then, when the dinner was on the table, Sarah had disappeared to go into the cellar to get up a bottle of Port Wine. Soon after you left I made a similar descent, & bro[ugh]t up a supply of 6 bottles of the new [underscored] wine – none of the old, because there is now so little of it left, & I want to reserve that little until you return, instead of having it all “gobbled up” in your absence. When Sarah therefore placed the fresh decanter of Port beside me, I asked her whether it was new or old; & she expressed the same ignorance as in the case of the Sherry the other day. – I then described the locality of
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(5) the 2 open boxes - & found, as I told her, that she had taken a bottle of the old; & remarked that if she, in her ignorance of which was which, had only asked [underscored] me I could have told her beforehand. Before entering in the dessert, I got a candle & asked Walker to go with me to the Wine cellar, which he cheer =fully did; for we bro[ugh]t up up 6 bottles of the new [underscored] wine, of which I decanted one, & used about 1/4th of the old as a “doctor,” & corked [underscored] up the rest to be used in like manner. –
When dinner was over, & the lads were smoking their pipes, I asked them to arrange the hose, & fill the water cask before dark for the benefit of the garden -which with Ann’s aid, they cheerfully did; & some time afterwards in going to the porch I saw W[illia]m hard at work plying the watering can among the thirsty plants. It is now 12 days that we have been without rain, but this is not the first time of filling the water cask for the garden; & the plants in the stand have been refreshed with water more or less every day, either by myself or others – The date [underscored] plant still re= =joices in the chimney-pot [underscored], you can tell Tobin, if you think it worth while now to write to him. And the transplanted Camilla has put forth several new leaves. -
It was not Sarah, but Ann, who went this morn =ing for a carpenter to repair the window cords; & the promise had not been kept. Sarah says she will see after it tomorrow, & likewise pay a visit to Mr. Hanna at No. 2 Commerce St. to have the front door step tinkered with cement. –
While resting in my arm-chair after dinner I had a talk with Walker as he sat, at my invitation, beside me: it was not a long talk – merely as sequel to his conversation at the office with Matthew yesterday,- & it is now settled that he is to resume his old post at 5 Hanover St. He asked me when I wanted him to come, & I said that I was in no hurry, but that he could come whenever he pleased.
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(6) He said he had already told Mr. Bigland that he must leave him, but that no time had been yet fixed between them for his doing so. – I told him he ought to arrange matters in as orderly a way as he could, respecting what had been entrusted to him by Mr. B[igland]_, before he finaly gave up the charge.
The Therm[omete]r reached 79 today. Having had a good nap since dinner – tho’ not a very long one - & my di= =gestion being in perfect order, I enjoyed my walk after T[ea], & felt less tired after it than before I went out.
The 29th May seldom comes round without reminding me of old times at Bootle [United Kingdom], & I thought of them this morning. –
Vicksburg [Mississippi], you will see, is not [underscored] “ours” yet; and I fancy that the opinion is now gaining ground that it never will be! [‘never...be’ underscored] Today Gold is higher – closing at 145, & “U.S. 6% of [18]’81 Registered” (which is the denomi= =nation of what you & Maury Bros. hold) after selling at 109 yesterday, is today at 108 1/2 . – Today 115 shares B[ank] of Commerce sold at first Board at 106. – It ought to be at a higher price, I think, than U.S. 6% Bonds, & for reasons that I laid before you in a former letter; but I do not suppose it will be until most of the remaining scrip shares have been converted into full shares, U.S. 6% is now 1/2 c 1% higher than when the revaluation of their U.S. securities shewed the value of B[and] of Commerce shares to be 116 1/2 %. –
In one of the letter to W[illia]m from St. Louis [Missouri] it is stated that among the prisoners captured at Port Gibson [Mississippi] by Gen[era]l Grant, there is the name of James T. Maury; & he is I presume one of the sons of the Judge there, formerly of Tenn[essee] I see the st[eame]r America arrived yesterday from the Isthmus, [of Panama] & is still under command of Jeff[ery] Maury.
I cannot pay the postage on these 2 letters to you by this st[eame]r because the letter bag is made up at Dule’s office. -so you must remember to repay Mary Bold . –
Yours affectionately R[uston] Maruy
30th. The window cords were repaired before I came down to breakfast. Therm[omete]r last night 67 minimum.
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To Matthew Maury Esq[uire] 62 Irving Place
St. Thomas [New York City] Vestry May 28th – 1863
Rec[eive]d 29 May a.m.
My dear Sir
Under what appears to be an absolute necessity, the Vestry of St. Thomas’ are again endeavouring to effect a removal up town. Our Parish is completely disintegrated, & almost every family separated, except a few residing in the immediate vicinity of the Church; and we have recently been [assured?] that many, living at a distance, will shortly leave us, unless the church is removed.
Under these circumstances, the Vestry have requested the Committee on Vaults, of which I am a member, to renew their efforts to secure from the Vault-owners, consent to the proposed removal, upon rea= =sonable terms. – The Vestry are willing to secure to all who may desire it, a vault of corresponding dimensions around the walls of the new church, and to remove the remains of the dead, carefully & reverently, at their own expense: Or to provide similar vaults in Greenwood or Trinity cemetery, or elsewhere, at the option of those interested: - Or to pay in money the original valuation of the Vault, to the present owner. –
The Church property can be sold to much better advantage, as a whole, than in parcels: and on this account we seek to arrange matters with the Vault-owners, at as early a day as possible. – Most have given their assent [struck-through] consent. And although you have manifested an honest repugnance to the removal of the Church & the disposal of your vault, may I not hope that you will consider the increas= =ing evils which beset our Parish in consequence of the location of the Church, and fall in with the prevailing, almost unanimous desire to remove.
I am dear Sir, with great respect your Friend & Pastor (signed) William F. Morgan.
